The concept of devices for tilting a sofa bed or futon frame between a bed position and a couch position are old in the art. Typically, the end frames have guide slots with one set of guide slots having a L-shape with a roller that must first be moved laterally along the lower portion of the L-shaped slot before the roller can be moved upward to convert the bed into a couch. A purpose of the L-shape slot is to provide a lock for the futon frame to maintain the futon in the bed position. Unfortunately, the locking also requires one to unlock the frame by having to laterally displace the pad support member before the unit can be converted into a couch. This problem is specifically pointed out in U.S. pat. No. 4,829,611 where in column 4 lines 30 to 35 he states "It may be necessary to pull or jiggle the engaged seat frame 17 and back frame 18 so that they are unlocked in their horizontal positions with the bearings 26 and 27 engaged in the horizontal components of the respective guide channels 31 and 32." The present invention addresses the problem of having to unlock the frame before converting the futon from the bed position to the couch position by providing guide slots that initiate movement of the futon from the bed position to the couch position by merely lifting the pad free of the cross rail yet during normal use of the futon as a bed the guide slots and cross rails coact with the pad support members to retain the futon in the bed position.